Balloon
by The Deceiving Maiden
Summary: Sigmund Memory 60 Min Challenge, Day 9: Balloon. River wanted to see Anya. After getting a balloon from Johnny, she wanted to see her even more.


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**Balloon**

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It was a normal day, like always. Johnny had taken her out of the house again. She didn't mind, as Johnny was always considerate of her by picking places that wouldn't make her uncomfortable. River never liked crowded places, and she knew Johnny never did as well.

And like any other day, Johnny took her out to the park again. She liked it here. It was a nice day after all. Not too hot and not too cold. There were some children running around with their families, and River watched them laugh as they chased after the ducks waddling around. It was a bit uncomfortable to see the ducks _quack _in distress before jumping into the lake to swim away, so River hugged her platypus soft toy closely. The children seemed harmless, but she didn't want them to come over and demand over her precious doll.

"Are you alright, River?" Johnny noticed her distressed. It was written all over his face when she glanced over.

"Yes," she replied before looking out to the scenery again. Johnny worried about her so much, but she sometimes wished he would trust her she could deal with a bit of stress. It was not like she was a completely helpless child. She felt she was more than that.

"I see," he nodded before looking back at the scenery too. They stayed like that for a while, just sitting here, enjoying the peacefulness. River would had preferred to spend her day with Anya, but this was nice too, she guessed. Watching the children run around still, River blinked when she saw one of their parents handed them balloons, and it made her eyes sparkle.

"Hmm? What is it?" Johnny asked her as she leaned in closer towards where they were. He followed her line of sight, spotting what she was looking at. "Balloons? Do you want a balloon?"

"Yes," she watched how the children squealed and rung around with them in glee. Again, she squeezed her platypus close to her.

"I wonder where they got them…let's go ask them?"

"Okay." And with that, Johnny took her hand and dragged her to where the parents were. He asked the questions, and River felt their prying gaze when they saw her holding her platypus close. They were nice enough to tell them where they got the balloon though, and after giving his thanks, Johnny headed towards where the parents told them the balloons were.

They found the balloons at once, of course. Because there were a bunch of them floating in the air, all tied to a small store cart as a clown handed them out, one by one, after they were paid. River got a bit anxious, but Johnny gave her a slight squeezed to tell her it's alright. They were going to get her the balloon.

"So, River," Johnny smiled at her. "Which balloon would you like?"

River looked over the balloons, staring at how colourful each and every one of them were. It was a bit hard to choose since there were so many of them, but she wanted one so bad.

"Um…the yellow one," she finally decided. And when Johnny got the message, he went over and bought the yellow balloon at once. He came back, smiling brightly at her before lifting up her platypus' paw to tie the string around it. River just watched him, confused. Wasn't the balloon for her?

"This way, the balloon won't fly away," Johnny explained to her gently. River blinked a bit, but nodded in understanding. She was clumsy afterall, so it was good for her platypus to hold onto her balloon for her.

Smiling a bit, River looked up at her balloon. It was so big, bright yellow and all. It swayed a bit in the breeze, moving with the leaves that were rustling above them. The sun was shining through the leaves, shining its rays through the many small openings in the canopy…

River's smile faltered a bit as she stares started to grow distant, and her hold on her platypus started to tighten again. Johnny noticed this, and got worried. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you tired?"

"No…" she shook her head quietly. Johnny didn't buy it though, but didn't know how to ask River what was really wrong when she got like this.

"Then…do you want to go somewhere else? It is getting hotter. Maybe we can go somewhere with an AC and cool down?"

She didn't really want that. Those places had more people anyway, and normally River could handle them, today wasn't it. Staring up at the balloon again, she thought of something.

"Can we go see Anya?" she asked Johnny. It was a simple request, but it was a long drive from here. Johnny might say no, but River looked pleadingly at her.

"Hmm…alright." He just smiled at her, and not before long, they were heading back into their car, and Johnny drove off to their destination. They didn't say anything during the whole trip, and River liked it that way. Just compete silence as Johnny drove down the road, murmuring under his breathe once in a while. And all River did was stare outside the side window, watching the scenery pass by as she held her platypus and balloon close (Johnny mentioned she must hold the balloon close to her during the trip since she didn't want to put it at the back with her platypus). Once in a while, she looked down at it, her mind wondering to that starry night from her childhood.

When she met Johnny.

And when he made her feel connected to someone for the first time.

"Well, we're here," Johnny told her, and they both got out of the car. The trek up the hill was long and tedious, especially so when River was hugging her platypus and dragging the balloon behind her. Normally she would leave it behind in the car; but today, she wanted to bring her platypus with her, even when Johnny protested.

And once they arrived, River smiled at once. When the ground was more stable, she rushed over to Anya, looking up at her with bright, green eyes. Anya still hadn't lit up yet, but River didn't mind. She just wanted to be with her.

Johnny lagged behind her, heaving at the long trip they just took. Her hand touching the base, River closed her eyes as she sighed in content. Anya must had been lonely, but she was glad she and Johnny came today for her.

And to make up for it, River began to try and untie the string bound to her platypus. It was hard though, as Johnny did a double knot and she couldn't get it undone with just one hand. Frowning, she tried to tug it off, her hand slipping once in a while as she tried harder. "Hey! What are you doing!" Johnny came rushing over to stop her, but she persisted. "If you do that, your balloon will fly away."

"It's for Anya," River answered firmly, before getting back to work. She was almost done, and just as the string came loose around her platypus' paw, River's hand slipped and the balloon started to fly away.

"Ah!" River tried to reach for it, missing it during her panic, but Johnny caught it for her. They both sighed in relief, but her husband looked exasperated by what she was trying to do. River always felt bad when he made that face, so she stayed quiet as she lowered her head in shame.

"Is this for Anya?" he asked her as patiently as he could. River looked up at him, giving him a small nod of a 'Yes.' Nodding in understanding, Johnny walked over to Anya with the balloon in hand. River watched him quietly, at how he tried to get rid of the note he did before tying it around Anya's doorknob. Her eyes lite up, especially when Anya got her balloon as it swayed a bit in the breeze.

Seeing River happy now, Johnny gave her a soft smile. "So you got the balloon just for Anya?"

"Yes," she nodded, knowing Anya was very happy now to have the balloon.

Johnny couldn't help it but laugh. "It's like you're buying the balloon for a child, y'know?"

River blinked at his words, turning to him with a confused look. "Anya is our child."

Her simple statement seemed to have caught Johnny off guard. But she paid no mind. Because it was true. Anya was her and Johnny's child. They both love her, and even though the trip to see her took a long time, they would always come to visit her whenever possible. She had been with them before their wedding, so it was right to give a gift to Anya. After all, she was lonely. She would like the balloon of course.

Johnny gave a small sigh, looking away. "She's our child…huh…"

River didn't understand why he sounded so upset, but it was true still. Taking his hand, River gave him a comforting squeeze. They didn't have children. That was true. But they had Anya.

And they should be happy with that.


End file.
